USA Baseball Adds Six to New Board of Directors, Changes to Executive Committee Also Made

DURHAM, N.C. (Jan. 11, 2005) – The USA Baseball Board of Directors
approved the addition of six new members at the organizations’ annual
meeting this past Saturday at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville,
Tennessee, including the addition of four new recent athlete
representatives. In addition, several other changes to the USA
Baseball Executive Committee were approved, as well as a motion to
adopt an April 30 age cut off date for youth baseball in the U.S. The
change will be implemented beginning in 2006 and in place no later
than the 2007 season.

“We have been examining and discussing this important issue for some
time now,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball.
“As an organization we feel as though this will be a positive change
for our sport that will promote continued participation at critical
junctures in an athlete’s development.”

The four new recent athlete representatives include Mark Prior of the
Chicago Cubs (1999-2000 USA Baseball National Teams); Huston Street of
the Oakland Athletics (2002-03 USA Baseball National Teams); Chris
Lubanski of the Kansas City Royals (2001 USA Baseball Youth National
Team & 2002 USA Baseball Junior National Team), and Bridget Veenema
(2004 USA Baseball Women’s National Team).

In addition, Jerry Kindall and George Grande were added as At-Large
Representatives. Kindall – the former Head Coach at the University of
Arizona and Major League player with the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota
Twins – is a Senior Advisor to USA Baseball.

Grande is the current television play-by-play voice of the Cincinnati
Reds and acts as the host of the annual Hall of Fame induction
ceremonies in Cooperstown, NY. He has also hosted numerous USA
Baseball Golden Spikes Award shows and presentation ceremonies in the
past.

New organizational representatives include Tim Mead of the NAIA, Jim
Quigley of Dixie Baseball, Mike Dimond of the American Amateur
Baseball Congress (AABC), and Damani Leech of the NCAA. Mike Gaski was
re-elected President of USA Baseball, a position he has held since
2001. Gaski is the current head coach at the University of
NorthCarolina-Greensboro. His involvement with USA Baseball began in
1991, when he served on the USA Baseball Board of Directors as Vice
President.

“Mike has served an integral role in the recent growth of the
organization, and there was no hesitation on our part to ask that his
term be extended,” said CEO Seiler. “Additionally, we’re excited about
the new representatives of our various member organizations and look
forward to working closely with them to further the organization’s
objectives.”

Changes to the USA Baseball Executive Committee include; Jack Kelly
was elected as Secretary General; Kindall was elected Vice President –
Administration; Elliot Hopkins (NFSHSA) was elected Vice President –
Secretary; Sandy Jones (Dixie Baseball) was elected as an At-large
member; Ernie Young (Cleveland Indians), Jason Dobis and Prior were
elected as Recent Athletes; and Lindsay Burbage was retained as
non-voting General Counsel.

USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the
United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The
organization selects and trains the USA Baseball Olympic Team, the USA
Baseball National Team (Collegiate), the USA Baseball Junior National
Team (18-under), and the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16-under)
which participate in various international competitions each year.